Tank supporting means



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR arm n: GREENE 4am JAMES K/RVAN THE/I? ATTORNEY Jan. 27, 1959 o. w. GREENE ETAL TANK SUPPORTING MEANS Filed Jan. 18, 1954 o. w. GREENE ET AL 2,870,982

TANK SUPPORTING MEANS Jan. 27, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 18 1954 JNVENTOR. OTTO W GREENE AI/0 JAMES K/Rm/V THE II? ATTORNEY Pa t u r y t mea tier isuppqr ia aaks 10 s tanks ha e ee suppo t. 1 7 l e i d s uc ure, but .thi wn ees ex e s United States Patent 0 we -.sn r enrlse i Otto Greene, Brighton, and James Kirvan, North Chill, N. Y., *assignors to Pfaudler Permutit Inc, Rochester, Y., a corporation of New fYork Application January 18,4954, Serial isqnsoaseis 2 Claims. (011248-146) T is intent nr ate so seaport or de ts and more ge erally cylindrical shape in horizontallyentending position.

When large tanks are filled with liquid, the weight of such contents ttends to ,ehapge {the shape of the tank, as by increasing its diameter and decreasing its vertical height, with the result that rigid supports have tended .1 p c i h ta k wal s sea t iniureiits g essero c r o o -resi in lin n or even h t Wa l th sel s o he purp se o atoidine these t-riiflieu ti by. ands anchored above p si uildin mat ria s an str es- .One objec of th ave 'Qn itbsretor is t presid s pp t n means r suc flank ieam s a equa r sge ness endst ength .with a req s e ability 11. y e .or :fl s 1L0 comm date varises .nisha o one :tank with varying contents, or between the tank and its supports under foundation shocks and the like, without injury to the tank or its lining, or to its supporting means.

Another object of this invention is to provide improved flexible band supporting means for such tanks in which the bands are supported from below, as by relatively inexpensive leg members resting on a building floor or foundation.

A further object is to afford supporting means having the above advantages and adapted for assocation with tanks of the variety having corrosion-resistant linings of fused enamel, alloy metal, plastic compositions or the like, without any tendency to impair such linings.

A still further object is to provide a support of the above description capable of being readily and economi cally manufactured and installed.

To these and other ends the invention resides in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of a tank mounted horizontally on supporting means embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, front elevation of the supporting means of Fig. 1, showing greater detail;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the supporting means shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary section taken along line 44 in Fig. 2, and i Fig. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary section taken along line 55 in Fig. 2.

The present embodiment of the invention, herein disclosed by way of illustration, preferably comprises a pair of oppositely arranged supports, such as shown generally at 1th in Fig. 1, disposed at or near the end of a horizontal container or tank 12. A pair of such supports is preferably employed at each end of the tank as shown, as well as at intermediate portion of its length if so de sired. Tank 12 may be either cylindrical, or of oval :22 comp ises -bandAl i si1u responding pa ent n e 4. $9 tionsufif said ban w ll t sp e .trem Plate d a a 2,870,982 P ten ed Jan- .2 1.9.5.

o t e l r a ne al y r un d sha e stat s t as we l unde stoo in the a mo aes ghtl tapered toward one .e nd, .as shown in Fig.

Support 10 preferably comprises a welded box-like Crescen -sha ed es m m er (P e .2) Weld d or o herwis a ened to a a e Pl te .24, wh h, 1 4am,

is welded to a cylindrical bar 26 having .its opposite ends p oj n ngit ina y b yond th .Plete. a

show B 26 te t ant undati r plate l 'an proside :anie s p r e ba e ate 2 Ih projectn se two th ckness welded to et e with he e 1e in t we .tll-iek es f en d (w on e e fl o o fo ndatio a efid b mea o u ta e b lts 36- he c r e m ntio a e h cre cen -shamed membe st 1 te 4QPIEXYLQQ and no ed to the .hem e al. u w dly an u a d y. t

.een e misub teu ellv a the shape o h aank, as; fo sa nple .T is pp i 'simete y equa t th ra iu o ank .12- resilient y fle ible stee st ap or ban 22. i w l ed to an be term o anarer a e e e who e r diu spaced parts at the upper and lower ends of plate .510, as a 44 an 44. in i .2- Th teentr l Po tio y eu ted :b t he te t t wa h int rmed at P9?" points between points "4 a "4. h lowe ead o band 42 projects beyond the lower end 46 of plate 40 and is bent upwardly at a small angle, as shown and hereafter described.

Tank 12 is provided with bands 48 preferably of steel about one sixteenth of an inch less in thickness than the tank wall and partially or wholly encircling the tank. W preferably employ encircling bands which are drawn tight by means of bolts 50 engaging angle pieces 52 attached to the spaced ends thereof and securely anchoring the bands in place, as shown in Fig. 3. A layer of roofing paper or other similar frictional cushioning material 54 (Figs. 4 and 5) is placed between bands 48 and the tank to cushion the area of contact and to take up small irregularities of the parts. In the case of a tapered tank, an additional piece of cushioning material 56 may be placed under one side of each band 48 to allow for the change of diameter between the cylindrical inside surface of the band 48 and the slightly conical outside surface of the tank, as shown in Fig. 4.

Tank 12 is placed on the supports or leg means It? with the tank bands 48 resting on the leg. bands 42, as shown in Fig. 2, and made fast by welding the lower ends 60 and the intermediate portion 62 of bands 42 to the adjacent portions of bands 48. Tank 12 is thus yieldingly and resiliently cradled on bands 42 which, in turn, are carried by supports 10. Since the latter have a limited rocking movement in a lateral plane together with their cylindrical bars 26, all tank stresses are relievecl by the combined flexing of bands 42 and a corresponding rocking movement of the supports 10.

The invention thus provides means for yieldably and strongly supporting a tank of the above character adjacent its head portions at which it has the greatest strength, or at intermediate portions if desired. The supporting means is capable of an adequate degree of resilient yielding to varying longitudinal and circumferential stresses, so as to accommodate variations in the shape of a tank with variations in its contents and weight, without injury to the tank or its corrosion-resisting lining, as well as to accommodate variations in stresses between the tank and its foundations which may be caused by any shifting of such foundations, and these advantages are afforded by a simple and practical type of construction associated with the tank in such a way as to avoid any welding of supporting parts to the tank wall or other means of attachment capable of injuring the tank or its fused enamel or other protective lining.

It will thus be seen that the invention accomplishes reference to the details of a preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that such disclosure is intended in an illustrative, rather than a limiting sense, as it is contemplated that various modifications in the constructions and arrangement of the parts will readily occur to those skilled in the art, within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. The combination with a liquid storage tank of generally rounded, cross-sectional shape disposed with its longitudinal axis extending in a generally horizontal direction, of a plurality of pairs of supporting legs spaced longitudinally of said tank with the legs of each pair spaced from each other on Opposite sides of said axis, and a band in encircling attachment to said tank at each of said pairs of legs, each of said legs comprising a base portion, a body portion pivotally mounted on said base portion independently of the other leg of said pair and having a portion inclined upwardly and outwardly of ends attached to said spaced parts of said inclined body portion, respectively, with the intermediate part of said leg band spaced from said inclined body portion and attached to said tank encircling band for yieldably supporting said tank in floating relation to said body portion.

2. A support means for supporting a tank of generally rounded, cross-sectional shape disposed with its longitudinal axis extending in a generally horizontal direction, said support means comprising a band for encircling attachment to said tank, at least one leg means supporting said tank-encircling band, said leg means comprising a base portion, a body portion pivotally mounted on said base portion and having a portion inclined to the horizontal, said inclined portion being shaped to extend partially around the perimeter of said tank band and having spaced parts, and a flexible band having its opposite ends attached to said spaced parts of said inclined body portion, respectively, with the intermediate part of said band spaced from said inclined body portion and said flexible 'bandbeing fixed 'to said tank-encircling band for yieldablysupportingsaid tank infloating relation-to said body portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent V UNITED STATES PATENTS Jones Mar. 8, 1949 

